Earn millions every day by hunting for "heavenly gifts" in early spring

Putting aside the happy days of Tet, people in the highlands of Kon Tum invite each other to go into the forest to hunt for "heavenly gifts" in early spring. The journey is arduous and dangerous but also brings a significant source of income for the people.

In early spring, people in Sa Thay district, Kon Tum province invite each other to go to the mountains to hunt for rattan shoots, wild bananas, bamboo worms and medicinal herbs to sell and earn extra income.

According to Mr. A Niem, a local resident, twice a month, young men in the village go up the mountain together to look for forest products. They often hunt for rattan shoots, wild bananas, medicinal herbs and mushrooms. The work requires strength, walking for many hours, crossing hills and mountains, crossing small streams...

In the first days of the year, Mr. A Niem and the young people in the village often go to the fields and forests to pick wild bananas and bamboo shoots. Photo: Chi Anh

Mr. A Niem shared: "Rattan shoots cost about 30,000 VND/bunch, wild bananas cost 50,000 VND/kg of dried fruit. Thanks to these secondary forest products, I have an income of 500,000 VND to 700,000 VND per day. Sometimes when I have good luck, I can earn several million VND."

On the way, Mr. A Niem's ​​group also searched for bamboo worms, insects that often make nests inside bamboo stems.

Another experienced forest worker, Mr. A Chi, said that bamboo worms usually appear from December of the previous year to March of the following year, when the bamboo is young and lush. Bamboo worms are milky white, have shiny bodies, are as big as chopsticks, and are about two finger joints long.

Bamboo worms caught from the forest. Photo: Chi Anh

"Not everyone has the opportunity to catch this type of worm. It takes experienced people who understand the reproductive cycle of bamboo worms to calculate the time to catch them. On average, I get 2-3kg of worms, selling for 200,000-250,000 VND/kg," said Mr. A Chi.

The profession of hunting "heavenly deer" has been with the people for many generations, requiring patience, hard work and always facing danger.

Mr. A Niem confided: "This job is dangerous, requiring foresters to have experience. In return, each day of foresting can earn from several hundred thousand dong to millions of dong. There are also unlucky days when we have to accept returning empty-handed. That's why this is called hunting for deer."

A Chi cut wild banana bunches, brought them home to dry and then sold them. Photo: Chi Anh

Mr. Vu Van Cuong, Deputy Director of Sa Thay Forestry Company Limited, said that in early spring, people often go from 3 to 5 people to the mountains to pick wild bananas, rattan shoots or mushrooms to earn extra income.

Exploitation of these forest products is not prohibited or penalized, but the company always propagates and reminds people to avoid over-collecting, a destructive style that depletes the genetic resources in the ecosystem.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/kon-tum-kiem-tien-trieu-moi-ngay-nho-san-loc-troi-dau-xuan-242373.html